*Looks at calendar* Is summer over already? Say it isn’t so!

While the weather is still gorgeous and we’re all holding on the final days of summer, the bell that tolls is the sound of the school bell. Fortunately, technology  and these new apps help to make getting back to school just a little easier.

Probably one of the hardest parts of going back to school– both for students and parents– is getting back into the habit of doing homework and designating time to study. Not to mention, as your course load increases it becomes progressively harder to keep track of which projects are due and when. Does this sound like you? Well my friend, the myHomework Student Planner  app is perfect to help.

This simple app lets you input your courses and assignments to keep a running tab of what you have to do next. It even prioritizes! You can also input your class schedules. Where was this when I was working on my degree? 

The best part? It’s free.99? There are some in-app purchases you may be interested in but they’re mainly for customization and themes. Quite frankly the included theme is nice and it’s clean. The app is available for both iOS and Android

If you’re reading this page, I’m sure it’s safe to assume that your upcoming courses will require several research papers. The easiest page in that paper will probably be your bibliography once you download this app.

As you go and scour the library and The Internet, and you pour over tons of information to support your thesis, you have to cite your sources. EasyBib does exactly what the name implies. It makes creating bibliographies and citations easy by generating them for you.

Just search the app for the books you’ve referenced and bam! It will create the citation. It even has the capability to scan the book’s barcode to generate the citation that way. This app boasts over 7,000 citation styles including APA and MLA. After you’ve gathered all your citations you can export the file to email and have all of them readily accessible when you’re ready to plug them into your word processor of choice. This may not seem like a huge deal, but drafting a bibliography correctly can sometimes be the difference between a high “B” and a low “A”. We’re all achievers over here, so no cutting corners. We strive for excellence and this app helps to ensure that you put your best foot(notes) forward.

I’m an equal opportunity tech enthusiast, so this free app is available for both iOS and Android. Now that I think about it, my son has to include a bibliography with his papers and he’s only in elementary school. No more sleepless nights! (Well, at least not due to toll of creating proper citations anyway.)

Of the three, this is probably my favorite app.  Overdrive gives you access to millions of books right at your fingertips! That could be from your iPhone, Android, laptop, desktop or tablet without setting one foot in an actual library. Way to beat the system right?!

Now I don’t mean to downplay the library’s importance, because in order to use it you actually have to have a library card which is still something you have to walk-in and apply for, but that’s it. Once you’re all squared away with the city, all you have to do is sign up for an Overdrive account. Think about it. You’re getting free access to millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and video right at your fingertips. Taking some time to visit the relic better known as the public library isn’t asking for too much.

Overdrive is something you can use all the time. Not just for school. I’m a bit of a bookworm, so I definitely enjoy the option to reference a new book from phone immediately!

Which app will you try first? Know of any other too cool for school apps we should know about?